The Power of Life & Death

The Power of Life & Death

At “new birth”, you receive the authority to become a child of God. Authority is effective only if it is exercised. The potential of the “new birth” at salvation is unlimited! However, the actual results you see in your life depend on the exercise of authority that goes with it. In other words, what you will become or see released in your life is determined by the extent to which you exercise your God-given authority.
In verse 1 and 2 of Deuteronomy 19, Moses deals with the cause of blessings:

“If you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments… all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God…”

More literally, the first part could be translated, “If you will LISTEN LISTENING to the voice of the Lord your God…” The repetition of the verb “to listen” gives added emphasis. Simply stated, the conditions for enjoying the blessings are:
FIRST: Listening to the voice of God
SECOND: Doing what He says.
Blessings are promised to those who hear and obey his voice.
In Deuteronomy 28:15, Moses states the primary cause of all curses:
“But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee…”
The cause of curses is exactly the opposite to that of blessings. They result from not hearing God’s voice and not doing what He says. The refusal to hear and obey God’s voice can be summed up in one word: REBELLION.
The meaning of curse in the Hebrew, as it is used here is “vilification.” Let’s really process what this word means:
To vilify is:
1: to lower in estimation or importance;
2: to utter slanderous and abusive statements against : defame.
The main vehicle of both blessings and curse is WORDS! What you speak is a result of who you believe you are! What is in you, will eventually come out! In Hebrews 11:3, God’s Word declares that “the worlds were framed by the word of god.” If creation would have remained in the heart of god and never proceeded out of the mouth of god, there would be no world today. Say what you want not what you see!

“ An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour:
but through knowledge shall the just be delivered”
Prov 11:9 KJV

“A wholesome tongue is a tree of life:
but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.”
Prov 15:4 KJV

“ Death and life are in the power of the tongue:
and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
Prov 18:21 KJV

“Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth –
thou art taken with the words of thy mouth”
(Prov 6:2)

The Apostle James had much to say about the use of words. He points out that the tongue is a small member of the body, but the hardest of all to control:

“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”
James 3:5-8

James emphasizes the tremendous power that words have to affect people…. either for good or for evil. You hide yourself from the enemies in your life by speaking His Word. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit..put it in your mouth and speak it!

“Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips,
I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer”
Ps 17:4

When you speak the Word of God over yourself, you are establishing yourself. His Word causes you to be stable and not waver.
Our mouth gives expression to what we think, feel and want. Your words reveal what you believe. What you speak is a result of who you believe you are! I’ve talked with you about how the main vehicle of both blessings and curses is WORDS! You must exercise your authority to choose what you speak – whether you will “vilify” or whether you will “kneel.” God wants to transform you into His original intention – a mighty vessel of honor, used to bring heaven to earth in His mighty name!

Fear Leads To Worry

Fear Leads to Worry

by Joyce Meyer - posted April 29, 2016

And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?
—Matthew 6:27
Fear and worry are closely related. You might say fear is the parent of every kind of worry because every worry starts as a fear. The Bible clearly teaches that God’s children are not to worry. When we worry, we rotate our minds around and around a problem and come up with no answers. The more we do it, the more anxious we feel. When we worry, we actually torment ourselves with a type of thinking that produces no good fruit. Worry starts with our thoughts, but it affects our moods and even our physical bodies.
A person can worry so much that it makes them feel depressed and sad. Worry places stress on your entire system and causes a lot of physical ailments like headaches, tension in muscles, stomach problems, and many other things. It never helps, and it does not solve our problems.
We can worry about hundreds of different things, from what people think of us to what will happen to us as we age. How long will we be able to work? Who will take care of us when we get old? What happens if the stock market crashes? What if gas prices go up? What if I lose my job? Quite often, worry does not even have a basis or a nugget of truth to it. There is no known reason to even think about the things that worry and then frighten us.
The only answer is to stop worrying by placing your trust in God. He has the future all planned, and He knows the answer to everything. What we worry about frequently never happens anyway, and if it is going to happen, worrying won’t prevent it. God’s Word promises us that He will take care of us if we trust in Him.
Trust in Him: What are you worrying about? Cast your cares on Jesus. He wants you to trust Him with every thought, burden, and worry that you’re carrying because He’s fully capable of taking care of you (see 1 Peter 5:7).

Bill Winston: The Life Of Faith: 3

Bill Winston: The Life of Faith 2

Bill Winston: The Life of Faith 1

Making Our Lives Matter

Making Our Lives Matter

Hirshel Jaffe | April 19, 2016 | Inspiring, Living

When I was diagnosed with leukemia I thought, “Why not me?” As a rabbi visiting patients for so many years, I realized that no one is immune and anyone can get sick – the rich and the poor, the young and the old. My childhood nickname was “Sunshine”, and with my bright outlook and positive spirit I asked the doctor, “What can we do?”
The belief in the possibility of hope is the narrative of the Jewish people. We have historically been geniuses of hope. The gateway to Hell in Dante’s Divine Comedy has the inscription, “Abandon hope all ye who enter here.” Playwright Eugene O’Neill said, “Human hope is the greatest power in life and the only thing that defeats death.”
False hope is dysfunctional, and can lead to to disillusionment. False hope makes people vulnerable to hucksters and simplistic “pie in the sky by and by.” But we can believe in the extraordinary around us.

The quality of hopefulness should not be left to chance. Hopefulness comes from immersing our lives in values larger than ourselves, enabling our lives to touch the eternal and leave a lasting impression on the world.

One of the problems of living in a self-centered culture is that we avoid dedicating ourselves to changing the world for the good of others. Why is it that so many World War II veterans are reported to have looked back on their experience as the best part of their lives? Why is it that many people do not start living until they face the end of their lives?
It is because deep within us we want our existence to matter. We worry that we may leave without having and impact, that the fact that we lived will never be noticed or remembered. That we may have lived for nothing.
If my people could overcome the despair of the death camps, then certainly life can be filled with hope each and every day. The song of the Jewish partisans during the Holocaust proclaims, “Never Say You Walk the Final Road!”
As long as we live and breathe, hope glimmers within; with our every act and encounter we can touch other lives. In his book “Man’s Search for Meaning” the psychiatrist Victor Frankl describes how he endured the Nazi concentration camps and lost almost all of his family in the Holocaust.
While Frankl was in Dachau and Auschwitz he observed that how the prisoners reacted differently to the same conditions of great suffering. Frankl discovered that he people who had a greater chance of surviving were those who set a purpose for themselves. Their positive attitude attitude helped the to triumph over their circumstances; for example to cling to the hope that they would be reunited with their loved ones.

Frankl says we can’t always chose the circumstances of our ordeals, but we can and must chose how we will react to suffering and adversity.

No matter what our plight, we are free to chose our attitude toward the tough times. @TheRunningRabbi
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So we can find meaning and hope even in the darkest days.
In the words of the Psalmist. “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.”

Thought For The Day

"When you say no to the wrong people, it opens up the space For The Right People To Show Up.:)
"Peace and Blessings" Pete Ross